The $25 million bounty on Saddam Hussein's head is a desperate measure of an administration desperate for something to show for Gulf War II.

Something other than a mounting toll of dead American troops, that is.

The war began with an attack on a location that supposedly held Saddam and his sons and henchmen. In the days afterward, we were told that Saddam had been injured, perhaps seriously.

At another point in the war, bombs again targeted a location where the Iraqi leader was supposed to be - a restaurant in a crowded civilian neighborhood.

Again, no corpse - except for the civilians.

Since then, though, we've heard that Saddam and his sons escaped with a ton of stolen money and tried to get into Syria. Supposedly, he was sent back to Iraq, where he remains in hiding.

Saddam doesn't rule Iraq from a throne anymore, but make no mistake, he still controls at least part of what goes on there. One of his critics was killed this week. A coincidence?

So, to help smoke out Saddam, President George W. Bush has authorized a big-time bounty. Maybe some of the bounty hunters that roam the United States with callous disregard for laws and regulations could hit paydirt in Iraq. Unlikely.

If the entire intelligence network of the United States can't locate Saddam, it's doubtful that a bounty will do much to persuade someone close to Saddam to give him up. Those folks probably value their breathing more than American cash.

Months after Gulf War II started, what results are there?

More than 200 dead Americans, with that number growing every day.

Thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, who had no dog in this fight.

Thousands of dead Iraqi troops. War is hell.

Puppet Iraqi officials being dumped from office for alleged corruption and who knows what all.

Continued checkpoint shootings, suicide bombings and general unrest in a country that U.S. troops will occupy for at least five years, unless leaders decide to cut their losses and leave.

Oh, and no weapons of mass destruction.

No Saddam.

Or Osama bin Laden, come to think of it.

Desperate? Yeah, it would seem that the administration might be a little desperate for something resembling a conclusion.